Tsunade didn't even bother unpacking her bags. She walked straight into the Hokage tower, kicked the doors to the main office open, and threw her grey kimono jacket over the back of the massive, worn leather chair.
Sitting behind that desk for the first time, she looked every bit the Senju princess she was born to be.
Of course, the two ancient village elders, Koharu and Homura, were already there, waiting like a pair of dusty gargoyles. They immediately tried to establish their dominance over the newly returned Sannin.
"Tsunade," Koharu began, her voice tight and patronizing. "While we are pleased you have taken the mantle, you must understand that the village is in a fragile state. The council will need to approve your immediate agenda, and we must discuss the reallocation of ANBU forces—"
SLAM!
Tsunade's fist hit the heavy oak desk. The wood didn't splinter, but the sheer shockwave rattled the windows and made the two elders flinch backward.
"Let's get one thing straight right now," Tsunade interrupted, her amber eyes burning with absolute, uncompromising authority. "You two are advisors. You advise. I decide. I am the Fifth Hokage. If you ever try to backdoor my authority or dictate terms to me in my own office again, I will personally throw you both off the roof of this tower. Are we clear?"
Koharu and Homura stared at her in stunned silence. The submissive, easily manipulated Hiruzen was truly gone. They swallowed hard, offering stiff, terrified nods before hastily excusing themselves from the room.
"Good," Tsunade grunted, grabbing a stack of medical files off the desk. "Shizune! We're going to the hospital."
****
[Konoha General Hospital]
Tsunade wasted no time. As the greatest medical ninja in the world, she immediately marched to the hospital to deal with the casualties the standard medics couldn't fix.
I leaned against the wall outside Room 301, eating a crisp red apple, while Tsunade worked her magic inside.
The door slid open. Tsunade walked out, wiping sweat from her forehead, followed closely by a completely exhausted Shizune, who shot me a quick, shy glance before looking at the floor.
"How is he?" I asked casually, taking a bite of my apple.
"The psychological damage was severe," Tsunade sighed, leaning against the wall next to me and crossing her arms. "Tsukuyomi is a nightmare. It took a massive toll on his nervous system, but I managed to piece his mind back together. He's awake."
I looked through the open doorway.
Inside the room, Sakura was sobbing loudly, her arms wrapped tightly around the newly-awakened Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto was standing near the window, his hands behind his head, a massive, relieved grin on his face. Kakashi was leaning in the corner, his nose buried in his little orange book.
But Sasuke wasn't looking at Sakura. He wasn't looking at Kakashi.
He was glaring absolute daggers at Naruto.
The last thing Sasuke remembered before passing out in the hotel hallway was the sheer, crushing helplessness of being beaten and tortured by Itachi. And now, he was waking up to find that Naruto—the dead-last loser of the academy, the kid he used to look down on—had fought Gaara, protected Tsunade, and mastered an A-Rank jutsu while Sasuke had been trapped in a pathetic coma.
And then, Sasuke's dark, hateful eyes shifted past Naruto, landing directly on me leaning against the doorframe in the hallway.
I didn't offer him a friendly smile. I didn't offer him any sympathy. I just took another bite of my apple, looking at him with the cold, indifferent gaze of a superior looking down at a rather annoying insect.
He remembered the hallway. He remembered me blocking Kisame's massive sword with my bare hand. He remembered Itachi treating me like a genuine threat, while swatting him away like a fly.
The inferiority complex bubbling inside the last Uchiha was practically visible to my [Observation Haki]. It was a toxic, festering black cloud of resentment, anger, and absolute, agonizing desperation for power.
Sasuke's fists clenched the white hospital sheets until his knuckles turned completely white.
"Get out," Sasuke rasped, his voice trembling with suppressed rage.
Sakura stopped crying, pulling back in confusion, her hands hovering in the air. "S-Sasuke-kun?"
"I said get out!" Sasuke yelled, his Sharingan blazing to life, spinning furiously as he glared at Naruto and me. "All of you! Just get out!"
"Hey! What's your problem?!" Naruto yelled back, instantly offended, stepping toward the bed. "We just saved your life, you jerk! We brought the new Hokage all the way back here just to fix your brain!"
"Let's go, Naruto," I said smoothly, stepping away from the wall and tossing my apple core into a nearby trash can. "The patient needs his beauty rest. Healing a bruised ego takes a lot more time than healing a bruised brain."
Sasuke bared his teeth, looking like he wanted to jump out of the bed and Chidori me right in the chest.
I turned my back on the fuming Uchiha without another word, walking down the sterile white hallway, my crimson coat swishing behind me. Naruto grumbled, but followed me out, leaving Sakura to try and calm the raging avenger.
As we walked toward the staircase, a green blur suddenly exploded down the corridor.
"TSUNADE-SAMA!"
Might Guy slid to a halt on his knees right in front of the Fifth Hokage, tears streaming down his face. "Please! You must look at my precious student! Rock Lee's injuries from the Chunin Exams... the other medics say he can never be a ninja again! Only you can save his springtime of youth!"
Tsunade sighed, already exhausted, but she gestured for Guy to lead the way. "Show me the charts, Guy."
I stopped at the top of the stairs, watching the Hokage and her assistant follow the eccentric Jonin down the hall to deal with Rock Lee's shattered spine.
Ah, the canon plot continues exactly on schedule, I thought, stretching my arms over my head. Let them handle their things. I've got my own investments to check on.
I had a massive, highly-trained, genetically gifted kunoichi locked in a basement studying fuinjutsu for me.
"I better go check on my Uzumaki girl," I smirked, a dark, thoroughly degenerate glint returning to my eyes. "I've been gone a long time. Knowing her... she must have missed her Master."
But first let's make a quick stop somewhere else. It had been weeks since I'd visited the Golden Quill Publishing headquarters.
Author's Note:
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